Unit 4: Articles and Quantifiers - Subjective Questions

Articles are determiners placed before nouns to indicate whether their reference is general, specific, or already known.

• A is used before a singular countable noun beginning with a consonant sound: a student, a university, a European.
• An is used before a singular countable noun beginning with a vowel sound: an apple, an hour, an MBA graduate.
• They introduce something for the first time: I saw a woman near the gate.
• They classify a person or thing: Ravi is an engineer.
• They can mean one or any member of a class: A child needs encouragement.

The choice between a and an depends on the following sound, not merely the written letter.

The definite article the identifies a noun whose reference can be determined by the listener or reader.

• Previous mention: I bought a book. The book is about communication.
• Shared situation: Please close the door.
• Unique reference: the sun, the Earth.
• Specification by a phrase or clause: the report on the desk; the student who won the prize.
• Superlatives and ordinals: the best speaker; the first chapter.
• Whole classes of people: the elderly, the unemployed.
• Certain geographical names: the Himalayas, the Indian Ocean, the United States.

Thus, the signals that the noun is specific, identifiable, or uniquely understood within the discourse.

Articles guide readers through the introduction and tracking of participants or objects in discourse.

• A new, unidentified referent is commonly introduced with a/an: A researcher entered the laboratory.
• Once introduced, the same referent takes the: The researcher opened a cabinet.
• A second new referent again takes a/an: Inside it was a device.
• When that referent becomes identifiable, the is used: The device was extremely small.
• A zero article may present a general category: Researchers require patience.

This movement from indefinite to definite reference creates cohesion. It tells the reader which information is new, which is already accessible, and whether a noun is being used specifically or generally.

Indefinite reference introduces a non-specific or previously unidentified member of a class.

• She consulted a doctor.
• We need an alternative.

Definite reference points to a specific, identifiable person or thing.

• The doctor prescribed some medicine.
• The alternative proposed by Mina is practical.

Generic reference refers to an entire class rather than a particular member.

• A good communicator listens carefully.
• Good communicators listen carefully.

The contrast depends on discourse context. A/an typically marks new or non-specific singular reference, the marks identifiable reference, and a singular noun with a/an, a singular noun with the, or a bare plural may express a general truth.

The zero article means that no visible article is used before a noun.

Common situations include:

• Plural countable nouns used generally: Books improve vocabulary.
• Uncountable nouns used generally: Information is valuable.
• Names of people, most cities, and most countries: Anita lives in Delhi and works in India.
• Languages and academic subjects: She studies English and physics.
• Meals, games, and sports in a general sense: We had lunch before playing cricket.
• Institutions used for their primary purpose: The child goes to school.

An article may appear when the reference becomes specific: The information in this report is valuable and The lunch served yesterday was excellent.

With certain institutional nouns, the zero article emphasizes the institution's normal purpose, while the emphasizes a particular building or location.

• The children go to school means that they attend school as pupils.
• Their parents go to the school means that the parents visit a specific school building.
• He is in hospital means that he is receiving medical treatment in varieties of English where this usage is standard.
• She went to the hospital identifies a particular hospital or presents it as a destination.
• The criminal was sent to prison refers to imprisonment.
• The lawyer went to the prison refers to visiting a particular prison.
• I went to bed means that I went to sleep, whereas I sat on the bed identifies the piece of furniture.

Article choice therefore changes the noun from an institutional function to a specific physical referent.

Countable nouns denote items that can be counted separately. They have singular and plural forms, such as idea/ideas and message/messages.

• A singular countable noun normally requires a determiner: an idea, the message, this proposal.
• Quantifiers include many, few, a few, several, and numerical expressions.

Uncountable nouns denote substances, abstractions, or masses not normally counted as separate units, such as water, advice, and information.

• They do not normally take a/an or a plural ending.
• Quantifiers include much, little, a little, and an amount of.

Some quantifiers, including some, any, a lot of, and enough, work with both categories. An uncountable noun can be counted through a partitive expression, such as two pieces of advice.

Many modifies plural countable nouns, whereas much modifies uncountable nouns.

• Questions: How many participants attended?; How much time remains?
• Negative statements: Not many participants attended; We do not have much time.
• Formal affirmative statements: Many factors influence communication; Much research supports this conclusion.
• Informal affirmative statements: Speakers often prefer a lot of: A lot of participants attended; We have a lot of time.

Too many and too much express an excessive quantity: too many errors and too much noise. So many and so much add emphasis. The noun's countability determines the grammatical choice, while formality and sentence type affect which expression sounds most natural.

The forms without a usually have a negative or restrictive meaning, while the forms with a have a positive meaning.

• Few means almost none and modifies plural countable nouns: Few employees understood the policy.
• A few means some, though not many: A few employees offered useful suggestions.
• Little means almost no amount and modifies uncountable nouns: There is little hope of an early solution.
• A little means some amount: There is a little hope of an early solution.

Thus, few and little emphasize insufficiency. A few and a little emphasize the existence of a limited but potentially useful number or amount.

Some and any can modify plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.

• Some commonly appears in affirmative statements: We received some responses; She needs some information.
• Any commonly appears in questions and negatives: Did you receive any responses?; We did not receive any information.
• Some is used in offers and requests when a positive response is expected: Would you like some tea?; Could I have some water?
• Any can occur affirmatively to mean no matter which: Any candidate may apply.
• Some can refer to an unspecified person or thing, sometimes with an evaluative tone: Some caller left a strange message.

Their selection therefore depends on meaning, expectation, polarity, and communicative purpose.

These distributive quantifiers normally precede singular countable nouns and take singular verbs.

• Each considers members separately: Each participant has a badge. It may also occur in each of the participants.
• Every considers all members of a group individually but collectively: Every participant has a badge. It normally requires a group of three or more in ordinary usage.
• Either means one or the other of two: Either proposal is acceptable.
• Neither means not one and not the other of two: Neither proposal is acceptable.

With of, a plural pronoun or determiner phrase follows: each of them, either of the plans, and neither of these answers. In formal grammar, the verb is usually singular: Neither of the answers is correct.

These quantifiers differ in range and countability.

• All modifies plural countable or uncountable nouns: all students, all information.
• Both modifies two plural countable referents: both proposals.
• Most modifies plural countable or uncountable nouns: most employees, most equipment.
• Several modifies only plural countable nouns: several questions.
• Enough modifies plural countable or uncountable nouns: enough chairs, enough time.

Before nouns, they generally precede the noun directly. With pronouns or definite noun phrases, of is often required: all of them, both of the reports, and most of our work. Enough follows an adjective or adverb but precedes a noun: clear enough but enough evidence.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable when their meanings change.

• Experience: Experience is valuable refers to accumulated knowledge; an experience means a particular event.
• Paper: Paper is recyclable refers to the material; a paper may mean an article, document, or examination.
• Glass: Glass breaks easily refers to the material; a glass is a drinking container.
• Time: Time passes quickly is uncountable; three times means three occasions.
• Work: Work requires concentration is uncountable; a work of art is a particular creation.

Article and quantifier choices follow the intended meaning. For example, one says much experience for accumulated knowledge but many experiences for separate events.

A partitive expression identifies a unit, portion, container, or measure of an uncountable substance or concept. Its common structure is number or determiner + countable unit + of + uncountable noun.

Examples include:

• a piece of advice
• two items of information
• three sheets of paper
• a bottle of water
• four kilograms of rice
• a burst of laughter

The unit noun carries the number and plural marking: two pieces of advice, not two advices. Partitives allow speakers to quantify uncountable nouns precisely and may describe physical portions, containers, measurements, or abstract units.

Multipliers express how many times an action occurs or how one quantity compares with another.

• Frequency: The committee met once, twice, or three times.
• Multiplicative adjective: We need double the quantity.
• Equal-dimension comparison: This hall is twice as large as that one.
• Noun-based comparison: This hall is three times the size of that one.
• Increase to a new total: Production doubled means the final amount became times the original amount.

Standard forms are once for one time, twice for two times, and three times, four times, and so on for larger numbers. The construction should clearly identify both the multiplier and the quantity or quality being compared.

Let the original output be and the new output be .

The multiplier for the new value is:

Therefore, the new output is three times the original output, or it has tripled.

The numerical increase is:

As a fraction of the original output, the increase is:

The percentage increase is:

Thus, the final output is of the original, but the output has increased by . Saying that it increased by would incorrectly confuse the final level with the amount of increase.

A fraction consists of a numerator and a denominator. In words, the numerator is a cardinal number and the denominator is generally an ordinal number.

• is one-third.
• is two-thirds.
• is three-quarters.

The denominator is plural when the numerator is greater than one. Fractions commonly use the pattern fraction + of + noun phrase.

Verb agreement usually depends on the noun after of:

• One-third of the class is absent because class is treated as a singular unit.
• Two-thirds of the students are absent because students is plural.
• Three-quarters of the water has evaporated because water is uncountable and singular in agreement.

Hyphens are normally used when fractions are written as compound words.

A fraction represents the quotient obtained by dividing by .

To convert a fraction to a decimal:

For :

To convert the decimal to a percentage, multiply it by :

Therefore:

Conversely, a percentage can be converted to a fraction by dividing by and simplifying:

The three forms express the same proportion in different notations.

A percentage expresses a proportion per hundred. Percentage points measure the arithmetic difference between two percentages. Percent change compares the change with the original percentage.

If a success rate rises from to , the percentage-point increase is:

The percent change is:

Therefore, the rate increased by 10 percentage points, which is a increase relative to the original rate. It is imprecise to say only that the rate increased by , because that could mean a relative rise to rather than a rise to .

A corrected version is:

A manager gave me some useful advice. There were many complaints, but only a few employees offered a solution. Fifty percent of the staff supported a proposal.

The corrections are:

• An useful advice is incorrect because advice is uncountable and cannot normally take a/an. Use some useful advice or a useful piece of advice.
• Much complaints is incorrect because complaints is a plural countable noun. Use many complaints.
• Little employees is incorrect because employees is countable. Use few or a few; here a few indicates that some employees helped.
• The fifty percent is generally incorrect when stating an unspecific statistic. Use fifty percent.
• Of staff may be grammatical in some contexts, but of the staff clearly identifies the relevant staff group.
• An proposal is incorrect because proposal begins with a consonant sound. Use a proposal.